Common Sense Media Review
By Christopher Healy
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Wacky micro-games require the uDraw tablet controller.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 7+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
SpongeBob SquigglePants
What's It About?
A live-action pirate is your emcee for the varied collection of micro-games in SPONGEBOB SQUIGGLEPANTS. For each set of micro-games you complete, the pirate will unveil a new painting in SpongeBob's art gallery. Each painting -- and the micro-games associated with it -- features a different art style (abstract, Noir, comic book, '60s mod, and even pixilated retro-game style, to name a few). The games only last a few seconds each and you need to figure out the goal of each game within those few seconds. You may have to toss burgers to restaurant customers, pop balloons, erase a drawing, clean a statue, strum a guitar, or any number of other unrelated tasks. The game also features an art studio for coloring and drawing your own SpongeBob pictures.
Is It Any Good?
SpongeBob SquigglePants obviously owes a lot to the style and vibe of the WarioWare micro-game collections, but that fast-paced style and wacky, absurdist vibe fit perfectly with SpongeBob SquarePants, so it all feels very right. Many of the micro-games can be tougher to figure out than to actually play, but that's a big part of the fun. You get hints, of course, about the type of movement you need to perform ("tap," "shake," "draw," etc.), but it's still always a frantic rush of "What do I do?!" as soon as each micro-game starts. And once you've figured them all out, the game can keep your interest by speeding things up a lot. There are a few games that require a bit more precision than the uDraw tablet allows, which can be frustrating, but there are so many of these micro-games that you'll probably be willing to allow for a handful of clunkers in the bunch.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the violence in the game. Does cartoony violence have less of an impact on kids than realistic violence? At what point does the definition of violence change from cartoony to realistic?
Since you will inevitably fail at several of these micro-games, how do you deal with that failure? Do you think this game would be better if the micro-games came with instructions before each was introduced?
Game Details
- Platforms : Nintendo DS , Nintendo Wii
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : THQ
- Release date : April 12, 2011
- Genre : Mini-games
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : February 15, 2023
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